Book Review The “Mini-Miracles” referred to in the title are the little improvements in the lives of Alzheimer’s patient, Jack – navy SEAL commander (Ret.) and his caregiver wife, Shari. After his diagnosis, Jack’s moving response: “You really don’t knowwho are until you take on something much greater than yourself.” Jack – who served three tours in Vietnam – regarded battling Alzheimer’s as a new mission. Shari says that it has given them both a “new life perspective.” Shari, as an author, investigative journalist and broadcaster, is ideally qualified to share any hopeful insights into the endless adaptability of the human brain. In her meticulous research, she found data proving that we can spur the growth of new brain cells at any age. In this book, Shari describes the “Diet, Vitamins and Supplements” that brought Jack from the edge of the “declining toward severe” stage of Alzheimer’s, to returning to the much better “moderate and stable” stage. After following the 7Dementia Diet principles that they had devised (pp 17&18), Jack and Shari both started to experience noticeable improvements in their general health (weight loss, renewed energy). Shari then decided that they needed to find a doctor or naturopath to design a vitamin and supplement regimen to support the diet for Jack. In Dr. Mordy Levy, she found both. Dr. Levy is a medical doctor (MD), a naturopathic doctor (ND) and a chiropractor (DC) – all degrees from accredited universities. Before designing the individualized vitamin and supplement regimen, Dr. Levy ran extensive tests on Jack, looking for potential dysfunctions which may have been contributing factors to his dementia. Dr. Levy describes himself as practising “functional medicine.” Functional medicine addresses the person instead of the disease – connecting the dots among all organ-based systems and restoring impaired mechanisms to proper function. After the initial tests, Shari and Jack didn’t have to physically drive to Dr. Levy’s office because he conducts some appointments via video conferencing. Shari even provides a link –http://www.drlevy.ca. This book is very reader-friendly. Each chapter covers the Dementia Diet in detail, but at the end of each chapter is a section called “In an organic Nutshell.” It’s for folks who just need the information, without explanation. There is even help for pronunciation – i.e. Erythritol (pronounced ur-wreath-ra-tall), a sugar alcohol. Some startling statistics; “In North America, Alzheimer’s is at epidemic proportions. One in eight people over the age of 65 live with this disease. Yet, for Shari, just getting the diagnosis was a long, frustrating ordeal. She had noticed changes in Jack for the previous seven years: uncharacteristic anger episodes; forgetting telephone conversations moments after he hung up; going from being an avid reader to not reading at all. One doctor told them that Jack had had a stroke leaving cognitive impairment, but that he was stable. Another doctor sent them to a memory clinic. They also decided that Jack’s cognition was stable; but Shari could see decline taking hold and, in desperation, she talked to Jack’s cardiologist. He immediately referred them to a neurologist, who ordered a CATscan and anMRI. After the Alzheimer’s diagnosis, the doctor prescribed Exelon, which helped clean out some of Jack’s brain fog. Throughout the book, Shari makes it very clear that she doesn’t advocate any particular drug or supplement. She is simply sharing their personal story. Their goal is, of course, to slow the progression of Jack’s dementia.The Dementia Diet is not a miracle cure. At the moment, there is nomeaningful treatment or cure for dementia – but that doesn’t change the mission for this remarkable couple. The “Mini-Miracles” mentioned in the title are the truly small victories that Shari and Jack celebrate. In order tomake it easier to get Jack to enjoy the required three teaspoons of coconut oil which he has to take daily, Shari concocted her “Peanut Butter Brain Bars (recipe on page 98). The bars’ effect works immediately. Without the bar, it can take Jack three to 10 minutes to figure out the zipper on his winter coat – he often gives up. “Within 10 minutes of taking the brain bar, Jack can zip up his coat in under a minute.” Family and friends have noticed a huge improvement in Jack’s conversational skills and his weekly workout routine is really impressive.These are all small signs of Jack “returning to himself.” After reading “Mini-Miracles” you may want to try some of Shari’s brain-healthy recipes. She’s written two other books; “Dementia Diet: Everyday Mini-Miracles Cookbook” and “Dementia Diet: Slow Cooker Recipes.” All three books are available at Amazon.ca(for Canadians) andAmazon.com (U.S.) We leave you with Jack and Shari’s optimistic mission statement: “While dementia may be a life sentence, it doesn’t mean one must give up on life.” Willa McLean is a freelance writer who lives in Brampton. Dementia Diet: Everyday Mini-Miracles THROUGH DIET, VITAMINS AND SUPPLEMENTS By Shari Darling (Shanti Publishing – 133 pages) CSANews | SPRING 2016 | 37
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